Nothing But Regrets
by Avoline Malfoy
Summary: Daryl has lost track of the car that took Beth. He wallows in self pity, until a young woman shows up begging for his help. Will she be his redemption, or will she be another name on his list of regrets? Rated M cause, hey, it's Daryl Dixon, and just in case.
1. Loosing Track

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even Daryl._

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_Rule one about being the child of an American redneck: Never watch a show where the redneck is basically the most important person there is._

_I have fallen head over heels in love with Daryl Dixon. I would love to be a walker on the show and have Daryl kill me lol!_

_Anyway, this is my version of what happens after Beth gets taken. I'm completely ignoring how the show went and creating my own reality for it. I'm eliminating that group of wackos Daryl was traveling with, and there will be mentions of Terminus._

_Anyway, this is my first TWD fic, so if you like it, leave a review. I don't beg for them, but I do get all excited about them lol._

_Sit back and enjoy!_

_Love always,_

_Avoline_

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I just sat there, wondering how the hell I lost the car's tracks. I never lose tracks like that. Never! Yet I couldn't tell which way the car went, and I didn't have time to go each way looking for it. I had one job, one fucking mission! And I still fucked it up.

Beth was gone.

I fought back the tears, just like I always did. I wasn't even going to try and hope that she was okay. That car took her three days ago. There was no way that she was still alive. All I had to do was keep Herchel's daughter alive, and I couldn't even do that. I pushed her away. I did everything I could to make her hate me. I made it clear to her that I would never enjoy her being around.

But I couldn't stop myself from getting to know her. Before I could blink, the girl had gotten into my head.

I was starting to remember why I never let anyone get to close.

My chest ached, and I silently cursed myself. First it was losing Merle. Then I made the mistake of letting Carol get close, only to lose Sophia. Sure, she seemed more free afterwards, but I could see that haunted look in her eyes. Then we lost Andrea. Then I found my brother, only to loose him again. Hell, I had to fucking put him down. After the Governor destroyed our safe haven, it was only me and Beth.

Now it's just me.

A noise to my left reaches my ears, but I tuned it out. I couldn't deal with reality right then. I just wanted to be left alone.

"Hello?"

I shifted my gaze to the side. Large, black animal. A horse, I realized. A massive black horse. I never knew horses got that big.

"You're not one of them, are you?"

A woman. She must be sitting on the horse. Never knew you could ride a horse that big. She sounded scared, and was probably alone. Like me.

"No, I ain't," I growled.

"Thank God," she nearly sobbed. "I thought I was alone." I finally lifted my head to look at her.

Red hair. Brown eyes. There's an old fashioned long bow slung across her torso. The saddle was equipped with a quiver slam full of arrows. Her jeans were a bit worn, but not ripped. Her shirt had just about had it, the material so threadbare that I could see how filthy her bra was.

There was a dear behind the saddle. It was haphazardly secured, but I could tell it was fresh. There was still some blood dripping from the nose.

A trail for the walkers to follow.

"Ya realize dem walkers are gonna foller that blood trail 'till it stops bleedin', right," I muttered, hoping my backwoods accent would make her leave. She could clearly hold her own, but I did not want another life to have to keep alive.

"I was hoping maybe you could help me with that," she answered shyly. "My daddy taught me to hunt, but we never thought about the blood trail left behind. It never crossed our minds." I raised an eyebrow at her. "Please, this is the first kill I've had in weeks. I'll give you half, even lead you to a place with more arrows for your crossbow. Just show me how to stop the blood from dripping."

She sounded so damn pitiful. I could only think of how I felt when I first thought Merle dead. Alone. Scared, even though I wouldn't admit it. If I had been brave enough to ask, I probably would have begged anyone for help as well. That horse was probably all she had left of her family, like Merle's bike was for me.

I stood up and met her gaze. I would not let her loose that horse like I lost Merle's bike.

"Ye got a rag er somethin'," I asked. She handed me an old black bandana. "Ye wanna take yer rag or some clothe an' press it against t'nose, like this." I wadded it up and pressed it against the nose, covering the whole end. "Lemme see that rubber band in yer hair. Ah'll give it back as soon as we cut th' deer up a bit." She pulled it out, and I got a good look at how long her hair was. It damn near reached her ass. "Ye take the rubber band or a length a' string and secure it on th' end. Ye'll have ta change th' rag out ev'ry hour, hour an' a half. Keeps the blood from soakin' strait through." I stepped back and let her admire my handiwork. "An' that's how ye do it."

She looked so damn happy. Like I had showed her the fountain of youth or the holy grail. I could see the tears in her eyes, and I had to look away. Is was almost too much for me to handle, seeing a girl cry. I looked away so she wouldn't see.

"Thank you, mister," she whispered. "Thank you so much." I nearly laughed, thinking of an old Tim McGraw song.

"Ya ain't gotta call me mister, hon," I began, starting to relax a bit. "Name's Daryl, but most call me an 'asshole redneck.'" She laughed, bringing a small smile to my face.

"I'm Annie," she stated. Ironic. A red head named Annie. "Climb on. I know where there's a Bass Pro Shop that hasn't been touched."

I'm starting to like this girl.


	2. Loosing Faith

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even Daryl._

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_So, I'll take it that the first chapter was a hit. Great! I guess I'm not doing half bad!_

_So, here's the next chapter. Sit back and enjoy!_

_Love always,_

_Avoline_

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It was dark when we finally stopped to make camp. I gutted the deer cause apparently, Daddy didn't teach her that either. Once the guts were gone, I sliced the meat up into thin steaks and wrapped them in a bag I had in my pack. Amazingly, she knew how to start a fire and keep it going. We cooked up a couple of the steaks to eat, which left us with about eight. Good sized deer for such a small girl to haul up on that massive horse.

"So, what did you do before all this went down," she asked. I took another bite, trying to figure out how to not answer her question. I just met her. I was not about to let her get close just to get hurt again.

"Nothing," I answered. Maybe that would keep her from asking any more questions.

"That doesn't tell me much," she laughed, and I knew she wasn't going to let it go. But I was telling the truth, at least.

"That's what I did," I growled. "Nothing. Just some redneck." I didn't mention Merle. It was still to painful to even think about.

I didn't want to tell her how I was just some junkie. I didn't want her idea of who I was to be ruined by the truth. Plus, she was doomed anyway. She's a tiny little thing, no bigger than a stick. Them walkers will get her one day. If I could just keep her at bay, maybe it wouldn't hurt as bad when she dies. Keep the people I meet at bay. That's always been my plan.

Didn't work worth a shit, if I was being honest with myself.

Loosing Lori hurt. Killing Dale hurt. Hell, I even missed T-Dog. Might as well make one good friend, even if she was basically doomed. Aren't we all?

"Daryl, at this point, I don't care if you were some Hell's Angels degenerate," she stated. "We're both still alive. And we aren't those things, so we might as well get to know each other." She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them, staring at me. "I'll go first. I was raised on a farm just outside of LaGrange. My daddy taught me to hunt and fish and how to break and ride horses. We had at least a hundred top quality cutting horses. Apollo was our best stud, and the biggest and strongest of our stock. I had just graduated from Auburn University with a degree in anything to do with running a horse farm when all this shit started. I'm only about twenty six or so, and I guess I've kinda given up on my biggest dream." I snorted a bit. Who hasn't given up?

"An' what's that," I questioned.

"Being a mom."

I might as well have been shot in the chest. I wanted kids before all this as well. I wanted to prove that I was nothing like my dad or my brother. The closest I ever got was holding little Judith.

Guess we got more in common than I thought.

"I was a drifter with my brother," I began, knowing this probably wasn't the best idea. "I jus' did whatever he said. Money was never easy, but it was a livin'. It got us away from our dad, an' it supported his drug habit." I fought back the lump in my throat. "I never touched th' drugs but once. That was all it took. Jus' that once a' havin' someone high as fuck holdin' a gun t'my head." I snorted again. "Now I fell like th' only one that can stay alive anymore."

I don't know when she got up, but as soon as I was done talking, her hand was on my arm.

"So this isn't really anything new to you," she whispered. I shook my head.

"Ye had it easy before this," I pointed out. "Yer daddy loved ya and cared for ya. I'm sure yer mama was th' same. Ye had a nice house, and everything ya could ever want er need. Me, I had a drunk for a daddy, an' he never hesitated to hurt me. My ma was about th' same. My brother abandoned th' family as soon as he could." I couldn't stop the feelings from showing. The hurt, abandonment, the anger. I might as well had Beth there with me. I might as well been back at that shiners house. "Now they're all gone." She wrapped her arms around me as the tears started to fall.

God, I was such a pussy lately.


End file.
